Alfred fornander



(No Model.)

A. FORNANDER.

PENCIL GUARD.

No. 544,429. Patented Aug. 13,1895.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED FORNANDER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE- AMERICAN LEAD PENCILCOMPANY.

PENCIL-GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 544,429, dated August 13, 1 895.

Application filed October 11, 1894. Serial No. 525,543. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED FORNANDER, a subject of the King of Sweden and Norway, and a resident of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pencil- Guards, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of a simple and cheap guard for securing pencils in the pocket from loss by dropping or being thrust out, the contrivance being such that the guard is constructed in a single piece of sheet metal and in a very simple Way, as hereinafter de- I5 scribed, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan View of a thin metal strip with one stamped blank detached from the end of the strip and another stamped and :0 ready to be detached to illustrate the mode of making the said improved guard. Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the complete guard. Fig. 3 is a side View of a guard applied to a pencil for use. Fig. 4 is a side View of the guard, and Fig. 5 is another side view of the guard applied to a pencil which is inserted in a pocket and secured therein by the guard.

I take a thin blank sheet or strip of suitable metal or composition of metal and of a 3'0 springy nature, as a strip a, of the same width as the guards are to be, and out therefrom short pieces, as I), having points 0 at one end and preferably rounded at the other end, as d, and stamp out a tongue, as (2, so as to be 3 5 severed from the side marginal portions f and from the end portion d, buthaving intact connection with the end portion 9. Then I bend the points 0, so as to form laterally-projecting prongs c, and also bend the side marginal portions f at about the middle of their length, to loop these portions over backward and set said end portion (1 to stand in a posi tion about opposite the junction of the tongue with the end portion 9, but ata suitable distance therefrom to serve as a spring-jaw to clamp and hold the guard on a pencil, as h, inserted between it and the said part g and the base of the tongue. The side portionsfare preferably bent, as at 'i, Fig. 4:, so that the curved end portion at bears edgewise against the pencil to bite for better hold and for greater strength, but it may bear fiatwise, if desired. The tongue 6 is also bent, as at j, about. the middle of its length, a little backward from the plane of the gripping-jaws, to form a lever to open the jaws for gripping the top of the flap k of the pocket and for disengaging it therefrom when inserted in the pocket, as in Fig. 4, said lever having a fulcrum on the pencil where it is so bent, so that by gripping the pencil and the free end of the tongue between the thumb and finger the jaws may be opened readily when inserting or removing it from the pocket.

The free end of the tongue being cut in the curved form shown makes a curved inner edge of the end part at to fit the shape of the pencil better than a straight form of said inner edge would for better hold of the guard on the pencil; but the said inner edge may be straight, if desired, and the curved notch formed in the end portion g, by cutting the end part d in curved form in separating the .blank from the strip, produces the points c,

which become the gripping-prongs 0 simply by being bent, as shown.

While it is preferred to out the blanks from.

a narrow strip, as a, the width of which is the same as the desired width of the guards, and out of which they are produced without any waste whatever, they may be cutfrom wider sheets adapted for producing several blanks side by side, also without waste.

Various forms. of dies may be used for cutting the blank. Ipret'er to use dies constructed suitably to stamp out a tongue e and at the same time out off the previouslytongued blank, but will employ dies otherwise constructed, as may be found best.

I claim 1. The improved pencil guard consisting of the gripping jaws formed of the doubled loop the extremities of which are adapted to grip the pencil inserted between the extremities and through the loops to hold the guard there- 95 on, the prongs of one jaw adapted also to receive the edge of the pocket flap between it and the pencil at the same time, and the curved lever attached to the pronged jaw, and adapted to have a fulcrum bearing on the pencil to which the guard is attached, for opening the jaws substantially as de- 5 scribed.

2. The improved pencil guard consisting of the gripping jaws formed of the doubled loop, the extremities of which are adapted to grip the pencil inserted between the extremities and through the loop to hold the guard thereon, the prongs of one jaw adapted also to receive the edge of the pocketflap between it and the pencil at the same time, and the curved lever attached to the pronged jaw, and adapted to have a fulcrum bearing on the pencil to which the guard is attached, 

